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Hi everyone. I'm from Houston, temporarily(?) living in Austin. I used to be obsessed with airplanes and flying as a kid, taking a few discovery flights when I was 11 (Grumman) and 13 (Cessna) in Houston. My plans to become an airline pilot faded away by the time I graduated high school and then went off to get a B. Of Architecture in 2008. I just passed my final (of 7) architect registration exams and am in the works to start my office. I'm 30 now and have been lurking around to see what's changed in general aviation since I stopped being current... WOW! So much has changed. The whole SPL and LSA thing blew up during my absence and I've been catching up over the last year. Not to mention the glass cockpit everywhere. I'm hoping to start flying lessons within the next two years, considering starting with SPL first and then finish off for a PPL. My aim is to just travel the country a little here and there throughout the seasons and enjoy the sights and food. I prefer low-wing planes and have not been disappointed with the options. My initial interests so far are the Arion lightning, Vans RV-12/14, and Bristell (my favorite so far). I just learned about the KLA-100 as well today on this forum. Let's hope business goes well, or that I win the lotto Hope to keep being surprised as I head towards that SPL.

Welcome. You will get differing opinions on this, but if you are in good health, I would get a third class FAA physical and go for Private. That way you can fly larger aircraft and fly at night. You can proceed from there toward an instrument rating. It doesn't take that much more to get a Private and why have to take two written exams and two flight test when you can do it with just one of each? Also, if you want to own an airplane, you can find a nice Cessna, Piper, or Mooney for about 1/2 the price of an LSA. In my opinion, a Sport Pilot certificate is more for us old guys who no longer want to risk taking and failing an FAA medical.

I would say , go for PP. There isn't much difference in terms of training requirements and if you are PP you can always fly LSA if that's what you prefer.Personally, I went for SP despite being in my mid 40s and probably should have gone PP but in my case I always wanted to fly LSA to begin with ( pretty much fun flying only )

Certified planes are incredibly expensive - I wouldn't mind a modern design like DA40 but alas, beyond my price range - and yes, sure you can get a certified plane for 1/2 the price of an LSA but it will be about 40 years old and it will definitely look the part.

Certified GA market is essentially dead - the whole enterprise frankly reminds me of automotive markets in old commie countries ( still evident in places like Cuba) - a slow trickle of new designs available only to super-rich while everyone else desperately trying to keep their 40-50 year old cars running as long as possible ....

Another vote to get a third class medical certificate assuming you have no disqualifying health issues, then pursue a private pilot certificate. That gives you all kinds of options in the future. For example, you could buy a low time used LSA equipped for night flying and build time with it without the kinds of flight restrictions imposed on sport pilots. LSAs are simple, and many have cruise speeds similar to Part 23 airplanes like Cessna 172s and Piper Cherokees, but with lower maintenance and operating costs. If you develop health issues, you can let the third class medical lapse and still fly airplanes using the FAA's BasicMed alternative up to 6,000 pounds gross weight with six or fewer seats, cruising at less than 250 knots, below 18,000 feet MSL, VFR or IFR (if instrument rated and current), day or night, as long as you don't fly commercially.

Whether or not you can continue to fly under Basic Med or LSA with a driver's license would depend on your health at the time. You cannot continue to fly if you have any condition that would make you unfit or unsafe to fly.

Yes, it can do more than an LSA because the plane itself is in a different class, but it is still ancient 1960s technology - the only reason these things are being sold and bought outside of niche antiques markets is because feds ( with their insane regulations ) and lawyers made everything newer so expensive as to completely unapproachable to anyone but millionaires.

Yes, it can do more than an LSA because the plane itself is in a different class, but it is still ancient 1960s technology - the only reason these things are being sold and bought outside of niche antiques markets is because feds ( with their insane regulations ) and lawyers made everything newer so expensive as to completely unapproachable to anyone but millionaires.

That's incorrect. The technology is basically the same as it is today. It's not a plastic airplane and it doesn't have a glass cockpit, but otherwise nothing much has changed since Orville and Wilbur. Airplanes can be well cared for and last almost indefinitely. I doubt a current plastic LSA will last for 40 or 50 years.

TimTaylor wrote:Whether or not you can continue to fly under Basic Med or LSA with a driver's license would depend on your health at the time. You cannot continue to fly if you have any condition that would make you unfit or unsafe to fly.

TimTaylor wrote:Whether or not you can continue to fly under Basic Med or LSA with a driver's license would depend on your health at the time. You cannot continue to fly if you have any condition that would make you unfit or unsafe to fly.

Yes, it can do more than an LSA because the plane itself is in a different class, but it is still ancient 1960s technology - the only reason these things are being sold and bought outside of niche antiques markets is because feds ( with their insane regulations ) and lawyers made everything newer so expensive as to completely unapproachable to anyone but millionaires.

That's incorrect. The technology is basically the same as it is today. It's not a plastic airplane and it doesn't have a glass cockpit, but otherwise nothing much has changed since Orville and Wilbur. Airplanes can be well cared for and last almost indefinitely. I doubt a current plastic LSA will last for 40 or 50 years.

Technology is not the same , not by a long shot . You could say the same thing about cars but , beyond tiny and specialized antique markets, nobody in their right mind would even bother looking at buying and maintaining cars from 1960s or 70s ( except people who don't have any other choice , ie in Cuba and similar hell holes)And why not ? At the basic level a car from 1960s will probably go just as fast and will take you just as far as any modern car but it is the other things ( safety , efficiency , comfort ) that make all the difference.

We'll just have to disagree on this. Cars are not airplanes. New cars are affordable. New airplanes are not affordable. Old Cessna's, Pipers, and Mooney's can be maintained as "good as new" indefinitely, and it is cost effective versus a new airplane.

Warmi wrote:I would say , go for PP. There isn't much difference in terms of training requirements and if you are PP you can always fly LSA if that's what you prefer.Personally, I went for SP despite being in my mid 40s and probably should have gone PP but in my case I always wanted to fly LSA to begin with ( pretty much fun flying only )

Certified planes are incredibly expensive - I wouldn't mind a modern design like DA40 but alas, beyond my price range - and yes, sure you can get a certified plane for 1/2 the price of an LSA but it will be about 40 years old and it will definitely look the part.

Certified GA market is essentially dead - the whole enterprise frankly reminds me of automotive markets in old commie countries ( still evident in places like Cuba) - a slow trickle of new designs available only to super-rich while everyone else desperately trying to keep their 40-50 year old cars running as long as possible ....

Solid advice, and I concur. You sure can get a legacy certified spam can for much less than a modern LSA, but you'll be constantly dealing with everything being old, rough, hard to work on, and with TSO'd parts that are straight out of the stone age that cost waaaaay too much. My C-180 was turning into a money pit, TBO looming over the horizon (to keep it viable for sale, if anything else...still running great though).

Going SLSA is proving a nice alternative for me on many levels. I do miss that horsepower though. Although, I'm re-learning to fly the wing, and not just hang it on the engine. I absolutely do NOT miss the fueling hassle....ladder, hauling the hose up there (had big tires) and it needed a lot of it! Just taking a couple 5 gallon cans to the local station, filling up with premium and topping off the Sportstar is super easy and cheap(er).

I would equate the two as being the Miata vs. Suburban of the light aviation world. One gets the work done, but the other one is a HELLUVA lot more fun.